I haven't done flea markets in about 5 years. But I did a flea mall at the end of 2009 and all of 2010. My sales did appear to dip at the end and I was afraid I was going to start losing money so I got out of it. However, I think my dip in sales was due to not having enough time to go and straighten up my booth, and restock more than once every week. My "real" job and my daughters extra curricular activities were monopolizing my time. However, once softball and ballet are over in May, I plan to get back at it.

I was talking to another man that had a booth in this flea mall and he was making about $3500 profit per month. He said it was his most profitable year ever in 14 years. But he worked it daily.

I am thinking about starting a booth here in memphis at our local flea market.It is a permanent indoor market, and the fees are 33 dollar per weekend. (Friday to Sunday)

That sounds cheap enough.

My reserved spot (4 parking spots wide) is $40 for a Saturday and is paid in advance for a month.The dailies pay $15 a spot (1 car parking space) and can take 1 to 3 spaces. The bad part for them is they are not guaranteed to get in! In the spring and summer this is a problem. Our winter in California is mild (can be rainy though) but at least we can sell...don't have to be at an indoor venue. Today (Sunday, Jan 30th) it rained and the Sunday sellers had a day off...and no income.

Are there any flea malls in your area? I paid $90 a month rent and the mall got 5% of sales, but they are open every day from 10 to 6. And you leave your stuff there. Just go in and restock, clean. I had a smaller booth. I think the larger booths were $125 a month.

The only problem with this is that you can't watch your stuff 100% of the time. The only items I had come up missing was costume jewelry. My husband and I opted out of putting small expensive stuff in it.

There was one, but I'm not sure it's operating anymore. It was in a poor section of town, and I didn't even go shopping there that much. A lot of "China" imports and hardly any "garage sale" type vendors.

The flea market closest to my house is low income. Been going for several weeks now and average about $100 in sales per day. Thats a 4:00am to 2:00pm day. Can't sell much of anything for more than $1 to $2 unless it is guns, knives, tools (power or hand). Thats what the men will pay good money for, haven't figured out what the women will pay good money for yet.

Yes, they can be long days and sometimes the pay isn't what we want it to be, but when you have what YOU consider to be a great day, the feeling is much different.

I stopped telling people the $ I brought in on any given Saturday when I realized that INVARIABLY they always DID BETTER THAN I DID. Sometimes it was 5x better than I did. For a while I believed it, but over time I realized that some of these folks were the ones who got 38mpg from the same car I had that got 20mpg. I'm not THAT aggressive a driver!

Anyway, time usually takes care of a lot of things, and an understanding of what sells and what doesn't is part of the learning curve.

Well, I already posted my introduction, so I guess I am ready to hit the broads, I mean boards.

Though I am very new to the Storage Auction scene and have not been to an auction yet, I have been into retailing used items for a couple of years now (part-time).

Last October I went and set up at my first flea market, Canton Trades Days (Canton, TX). I primarilly went to show off and sell my wood burnt art (outside spot). It lasted from Wednesday to Sunday.

On Wednesday, we set up only art (big mistake). I drove back 65 or so miles to Mt. Vernon to pick up a lot of my cb radio equipment from my shop, about half of my sports card collection, and about 100 dvds.

From Friday to Sunday, my wife and I grossed about $850 and netted probably around $450 to $500.

All in all it was agreat experience for the first time. I can't wait to buy some lockers one of these days and try it again. We had a blast! The best part was, I used 4 days of my 2 weeks of vacation from truck driving. So it was a win-win situation.

I think I have decided when selling at the flea market I have to hold the price I want on the good merchandise and watch a lot of people walk away, and let the less valuable stuff go for what ever people will pay for it. I have learned that if I bargain on everything by the end of the day all of my "good" stuff is gone, and I am left with the poor quality stuff. Stuff I really don't what to haul back home and certainly don't want to haul back to the flea market without a mix of nicer things.

I thought if I priced the lower quality stuff real low (25 cents, 50 cents) it would move more quickly, but it turns out that is not neccessarily so. I price an item, like books for example, at 25 cents a piece and people will still want to buy 4 or 5 of them for 25 cents.

The "crazy, insane low prices" might help move a little more inventory and clear space, but it really hurts the bottom line.

I also find that holding to a price on an item helps the bottom line... but of course there are exceptions.

When I find a super good, bright orange, like-new extension cord (as an example) I put tie-wraps on it and a nice (computer printed) 3 x 5 index card that says, 100 feet, xx gauge (if I know it) and the price...I get $12 for one like that. ALSO ON THE TAG, I say, "no less" and for the hispanic audience in my area..."NO MENOS".

This gets it put back down maybe 2 or 3 times out of 4, but someone always buys it. It may have to go out to the flea three times, but how much trouble is it to load it back in the truck to make that difference between the $8 someone offers and the $12 I want? Not much trouble and if you multiply that by 3 or 4 (or 10) items, you are starting to look at some money.

ON THE OTHER HAND....I have stuck with a price and regretted it. I had a fancy gold/silver plated bolo tie, brand new with a $60 tag on it and was asking $35. A guy offered me $30 and I turned it down. I carried that in my best aluminum display case for maybe four weeks before another person offered me $25 and I took it. No it didn't cost me much in effort and I made almost as much as I would have if I had sold it the first time, so not a biggie, but I did have to show it a few times without selling it, and I did turn down some $18 and $20 offers !

I guess there is not as much demand for a bolo tie as there is for an extension cord, so that was part of the difference.

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I have a friend who is just the opposite and prices everything CHEAP and doesn't want to take anything home, but neither of us has been able to convince the other that HIS method is the best. When you come right down to it, whatever WORKS FOR YOU is the best solution. If you can handle any regrets (or satisfactions) you have one way or the other, THAT'S the answer.